Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Montevideo: $1,784 a month against $4,049 in London, rent and utilities included – about $27,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

London, United Kingdom
Montevideo, Uruguay
London
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$4,049
/mo nomad
Montevideo
🇺🇾 Uruguay
$1,784
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Montevideo

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in London and in Montevideo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $4,049 per month in London vs $1,784 in Montevideo, rent included.

  • London $4,049
  • Montevideo $1,784

A couple spends around $5,827 per month in London vs $2,756 in Montevideo, rent included.

  • London $5,827
  • Montevideo $2,756

A family of three spends $7,605 per month in London vs $3,728 in Montevideo, rent included.

  • London $7,605
  • Montevideo $3,728

London costs about 127% more than Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both London and Montevideo sit above the global median – London by 199%, Montevideo by 32%.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
London
Montevideo
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$27.09 £20.25
$14.82 UYU 594
82.79%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$104 £78.0
$69.7 UYU 2,794
49.70%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.86 £8.12
$14.68 UYU 589
-26.02%
Cappuccino
$5.60 £4.19
$4.65 UYU 186
20.43%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.05 £2.28
$2.74 UYU 110
11.31%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.28 £1.71
$2.07 UYU 82.8
10.14%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$9.23 £6.90
$4.79 UYU 192
92.69%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$7.95 £5.94
$3.63 UYU 145
119.01%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
London
Montevideo
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.83 £1.37
$1.39 UYU 55.7
31.65%
White Bread (500g)
$2.05 £1.53
$2.89 UYU 116
-29.07%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.47 £1.85
$1.70 UYU 68.0
45.29%
Eggs
$5.12 £3.82
$4.62 UYU 185
10.82%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$12.89 £9.64
$14.22 UYU 570
-9.35%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.84 £8.11
$11.62 UYU 466
-6.71%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$17.03 £12.73
$12.23 UYU 490
39.25%
Apples (1kg)
$3.07 £2.30
$2.77 UYU 111
10.83%
Banana (1kg)
$1.38 £1.03
$2.85 UYU 114
-51.58%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.99 £2.23
$1.81 UYU 72.4
65.19%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.39 £2.53
$3.20 UYU 128
5.94%
Potato (1kg)
$1.60 £1.20
$1.94 UYU 77.7
-17.53%
Onion (1kg)
$1.80 £1.35
$2.16 UYU 86.4
-16.67%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.41 £1.06
$1.43 UYU 57.2
-1.40%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.81 £1.35
$1.94 UYU 77.8
-6.70%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$23.92 £17.88
$5.47 UYU 219
337.29%
Wine (Bottle)
$13.54 £10.12
$8.95 UYU 359
51.28%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$3.23 £2.41
$2.26 UYU 90.7
42.92%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.39 £3.28
$2.81 UYU 113
56.23%
🚌 Getting Around
London
Montevideo
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.92 £2.93
$1.56 UYU 62.6
151.28%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$243 £181
$73.8 UYU 2,959
228.90%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$5.58 £4.17
$1.90 UYU 76.1
193.68%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.27 £2.45
$0.43 UYU 17.34
660.47%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$58.4 £43.66
$10.59 UYU 425
451.46%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.08 £1.56
$2.12 UYU 85.1
-1.89%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$38.8K £29.0K
$26.8K UYU 1.1M
44.95%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$40.6K £30.4K
$37.0K UYU 1.5M
9.78%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
London
Montevideo
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$380 £284
$193 UYU 7,717
97.39%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$18.62 £13.92
$20.91 UYU 838
-10.95%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$40.45 £30.24
$44.89 UYU 1,799
-9.89%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
London
Montevideo
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$61.3 £45.78
$50.8 UYU 2,035
20.64%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$21.41 £16.01
$19.73 UYU 791
8.51%
Cinema Ticket
$18.09 £13.52
$12.30 UYU 493
47.07%
🧸 Childcare & Education
London
Montevideo
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$2,905 £2,172
$629 UYU 25.2K
362.11%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$35.5K £26.5K
$10.9K UYU 436.7K
225.90%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
London
Montevideo
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$116 £87.0
$104 UYU 4,160
12.14%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$54.5 £40.75
$57.4 UYU 2,302
-5.10%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$128 £95.5
$125 UYU 5,003
2.28%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$167 £125
$132 UYU 5,308
25.95%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
London
Montevideo
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,852 £2,132
$713 UYU 28.6K
299.99%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,269 £1,696
$575 UYU 23.1K
294.33%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$5,250 £3,925
$1,164 UYU 46.7K
351.00%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$3,752 £2,805
$1,033 UYU 41.4K
263.06%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$18.5K £13.8K
$3,418 UYU 137.0K
441.80%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$8,100 £6,055
$1,760 UYU 70.5K
360.22%
💵 Salaries & Financials
London
Montevideo
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$5,109 £3,819
$1,244 UYU 49.9K
310.63%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
4.74
5.74
-17.42%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for London: October 19, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
London
$2.3K
Montevideo
$575 74.6% $1.7K
Monthly Utilities & Internet
London
$439
Montevideo
$258 41.2% $181
Eating Out
London
$400
Montevideo
$269 32.8% $131
Groceries & Markets
London
$353
Montevideo
$334 5.6% $20
Getting Around
London
$280
Montevideo
$84 70% $196
Clothing & Footwear
London
$209
Montevideo
$188 10.1% $21
Sport & Entertainment
London
$97
Montevideo
$75 22.6% $22

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,852 in London versus $713 in Montevideo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in London are about 4.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $104 in London versus $70 in Montevideo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $353 vs $334 – making Montevideo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇬🇧 London
🇺🇾 Montevideo
🕒 Local time
06:13 6:13 AM
03:13 3:13 AM
3 h behind London
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
8,908,083 Capital
1,319,108 Capital
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

British Pound exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 0.748 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.839 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 40.08 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 44.97 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • London Montevideo 11,050 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight
From you
  • London
  • Montevideo

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.
Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index
London vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
How do living costs in London and in Montevideo compare overall?
Monthly costs with rent: $4,049 in London, $1,784 in Montevideo – roughly 127% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.
What salary covers living expenses in London compared to Montevideo?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,073 per month in London and $2,676 in Montevideo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
How do rents compare between London and Montevideo?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Montevideo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $713 there versus $2,852 in London.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Groceries cost about 6% more in London, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.
Which city has cheaper restaurants?
A mid-range dinner for two costs $104 in London and $70 in Montevideo. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.
Which city is more doable on $2,500 per month?
A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Montevideo, where all-in costs run around $1,784, than in London at $4,049. In Montevideo it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
How does quality of life compare between London and Montevideo?
It depends on your priorities. Montevideo has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,784 in Montevideo to $4,049 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.
How do I decide between London and Montevideo?
If budget matters most, go with Montevideo. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, London makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

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